PWO MASKS as the “beautiful woman.” In concluding these observations on Pwo stylistic tendencies, I cannot help but think about men-women relations and the fact that to a great extent Chokwe men see women in different contexts with a certain degree of “deference” and “apprehension.” Chokwe women are understood to be endowed with spiritual powers and supernatural abilities above and beyond those of men. A book written on the theme of “the Lunda-Chokwe woman” (de Sousa 1971) concludes that a Chokwe woman is loved as much as she is feared. Loved because of her ability to give life and sustenance, and feared because of her powers of “witchcraft.” The author talks about spousal relations as well, relating how a woman may publically insult her husband in a boisterous way if he is unfaithful or lags in his responsibilities. It is significant that the Pwo performer is a man “impersonating” a woman in her dances. I have witnessed the fear of a first-time dancer going to the public dance arena, concerned about women “chasing him out of the village” if his dances were not up to their expectations. Pwo may then be more than just the embodiment of a beautiful female ancestor. I view the particularities of any one carver’s play on a Chokwe stylistic canon for Pwo masks as something that also carries some of these gender-specific notions, to be scrutinized in a performance arena. The Pwo canon blends the ideals of an accomplished and fulfilled woman with elements of apprehension and respect of female powers in the eyes of men. These are interpreted through a rich artistic vocabulary that bridges aspects of spirituality 117 in an unequivocally Chokwe style.8 NOTES 1. I have various publications on the theme of the masquerades of Chokwe and related/neighboring Lunda, Lwena/Luvale, Luchazi, and Mbunda peoples; please see Jordán 1993, 2006, and Félix and Jordán 1998. On related masks and other art forms, see Bastin 1961, 1982, 1996; Jordán, ed., 1998; Jordán 2000a; Wastiau 2006. 2. On distinguishing a Chokwe style in relation to that of the Lwena, Songo, and others, see Bastin 1971. 3. For more on hamba arts, see Wastiau 2000. On the theme of divination and related art forms, see de Areia 1985; Jordán 1996, 2000a–b, 2002, 2003a–b; and Silva 2011. 4. See Bastin 1978, 1988. 5. Bastin (1982: 88, 91) published some of these early illustrations together with one by Lux (1880) showing a
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